Dr. Nathan LeBrasseur, director of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Center on Aging at Mayo Clinic, says it's never too late to get moving, even if you're an older adult.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

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Starting a workout program or being physically active takes motivation and commitment. The key is to start slowly and do something you take pleasure in.

"If you hate swimming, don't try to start to become a swimmer. But (if) you enjoy dancing or other activities (such as) gardening, those are forms of activity that once you engage in, you increase your consistency and compliance that will have the most health benefits," says Dr. LeBrasseur.

Being active can build muscle strength and improve cognitive and cardiovascular health.

"Three percent, or 30 minutes a day, of our waking hours, if we commit that to physical activity, will have huge benefits," explains Dr. LeBrasseur.

And for those young at heart, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.

"As we get older, dedicating time, purposeful time, to getting some form of aerobic exercise or endurance exercise, like walking or cycling or swimming, and also getting some form of strength training is critically important," says Dr. LeBrasseur.

Tips to get started and stick with a workout plan:

• Research workout routines.
• Schedule your workouts.
• Find an exercise buddy.
• Be consistent.

The post Mayo Clinic Minute: How to jump-start your workout appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

In 2020, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) approved women's wrestling as an emerging sport. Since then, athletes, coaches and other leaders have recognized that its policies need to differ from those of men's wrestling.

Wrestling is a sport that divides competitors into weight classes or weight categories; how much athletes weigh at the time of competition is a vital component to determining the most equal opponent. Wrestlers at the high school and collegiate levels are required to complete a pre-season weight certification — consisting of a hydration test, a weigh-in and a body composition assessment — to determine the wrestler's minimal wrestling weight, which then dictates the lowest weight class they will be eligible to compete in.

When creating the initial weight policy for women's wrestling, the NCAA set the body fat percentage to determine an athlete's minimal wrestling weight at 12%. However, recent research led by Andrew Jagim, Ph.D., the director of Sports Medicine Research at Mayo Clinic, has determined that a 17% body fat percentage may be a more reasonable and safer alternative to use.

"There has been scrutiny and concern among sports medicine professionals that the 12% value may be too low." Dr. Jagim says. "It could predispose female wrestlers to disordered eating patterns, frequent weight cycling and risks of certain health conditions such as the Female Athlete Triad."

Dr. Jagim says the Female Athlete Triad is a condition that consists of a trio of health issues including menstrual dysfunction, hormonal imbalance and reductions in bone health.

Here, Dr. Jagim answers questions about his findings.

What has your research shown about the current state of determining minimum weight for female wrestlers?

Values calculated during the preseason weight certification are established to discourage excessive weight cutting and frequent weight cycling throughout the season. Previously, a body fat percentage threshold of 12% was used for female wrestlers, which meant that a wrestler could reduce their weight to a point that would equate to a body fat percentage of 12%. Our work, however, has identified that 95% of current female wrestlers have a body fat percentage above 17%, which indicates that not a lot of female wrestlers are engaging in excessive weight cutting to achieve the lower body fat percentage of 12%. Our work on this topic has helped provide evidence to the National Collegiate Athletics Association to encourage revision of their policies and adopt a new threshold of 17% for collegiate wrestlers. In the spring of 2025, I will be presenting our research to the National Federation of State High School Associations and recommending a threshold of 19% for high school wrestlers.

Why is it important to change how the minimum weight for these athletes is calculated?

It is important to continually evaluate sports policies to help promote a safe sporting environment for athletes. With the emergence and rapid growth of women's wrestling, we are learning more about the sport and subsequently have more information to make more informed decisions regarding safety policies. While it doesn't appear to be a major issue yet, as the sport continues to grow, we will likely see wrestlers face more pressure to gain a competitive advantage — and in wrestling, that often means trying to compete in the lowest allowable weight class. If the 12% body fat threshold were to remain in existence, we may see an increase in female wrestlers engaging in excessive weight-cutting practices that could significantly increase health risks and lead to various negative outcomes such as the Female Athlete Triad and an increased risk of injury and illnesses.

What can athletes, coaches and parents do better to protect the athletes' health?

Some of the most important and effective things that can be done to protect the athletes' health is to follow evidence-based guidelines regarding optimal performance strategies. In brief, this means:

• Getting at least eight hours of sleep per night as frequently as possible.
• Following sports-specific fueling strategies (i.e., eating enough overall calories to support the high level of training and eating enough of the right macro and micronutrients to support the growth, development and recovery needs of a highly active young athlete).
• Properly managing the training loads of an athlete, meaning trying to avoid excessive amounts of high-intensity training year-round and making sure to incorporate planned periods of rest or active recovery.

From a wrestling-specific perspective, it's important to find the optimal weight and body fat percentage that allows the wrestler to feel their best, reduces the pressure of having to frequently cut weight throughout the season, and allows them to eat a healthy diet that provides the essential nutrients that their bodies require.

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In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Kenton Kaufman, the W. Hall Wendel Jr. Musculoskeletal Research Professor who is behind the study, explains the findings and why it's never too late to improve your balance.

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Aging can be a balancing act, and according to Mayo Clinic research, your ability to balance on one leg can be a meaningful measure of aging.

"This was a study looking at markers of aging in older adults," explains Dr. Kaufman, senior author of the study and director of the Motion Analysis Laboratory at Mayo Clinic. 

Forty healthy, independent, community-dwelling people over age 50 underwent various tasks known to be markers of aging, including balance.

"We were comparing different markers of aging and trying to see which one was the most predictive of declines with aging," says Dr. Kaufman.

Standing on one leg

He says, if someone can stand with all their weight on one leg for 30 seconds, they're doing very well.

"Balance is complicated. It involves many different systems. It involves your vision, your vestibular system, your somatosensory system and your neuromuscular system. All those have to work in coordinated fashion to keep you on one leg," says Dr. Kaufman.

All of those systems deteriorate with age and increase the risk of falls. The good news is it's never too late to improve your balance, it just takes practice.

"The important message is to try it at home. It's very simple, easy to do. It's quick. If you are unable to stand on your leg for five seconds, at least five seconds, then you're at risk of falling," says Dr. Kaufman.

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"Interestingly, it's the fourth busiest holiday for hand injuries," says Dr. Sanj Kakar, a Mayo Clinic orthopedic hand and wrist surgeon.

Dr. Kakar says almost one-third of those Halloween hand injuries are among kids ages 10 to 14. And most of them happen when people are carving pumpkins.

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"It's primarily stabbing injuries where the knife may slip, and, so, they can cut things like tendons, which are the ropes that help move your hands," Dr. Kakar says. "But they can also break bones, and also they can burn themselves, as well, with candles."

But Dr. Kakar says most of the injuries are avoidable.

"A lot of people might just go to the kitchen and grab a sharp knife. But there's good studies out there showing that actual pumpkin-specific carving knives [are safer], [because] actually the force needed to injure yourself, is higher if you use one of those than if you use a standard knife," he says. "So I would use a pumpkin carving kit, No. 1."

No. 2, Dr. Kakar says, is to let kids handle designing the jack-o'-lantern, but make sure adults do all of the carving.

And No. 3, make sure you're always supporting the pumpkin with your noncutting hand.

"So if you're right-handed, use your left hand to support the pumpkin and carve from the top down as opposed to the bottom up," Dr. Kakar says. "It's very easy for the knife to slip and go into your hand."

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You're playing tag with your kids, hitting a fast tennis return shot, landing after a gymnastics vault, evading a football tackle or jumping off a rock onto the beach. Suddenly, you feel a pop in your knee, then immediate pain followed by swelling. You may have just injured or torn your anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL.

How an ACL tear can happen

The ACL is a tough band of tissue that lies within your knee and provides front-to-back and rotational stability. When there's too much force through the ligament — especially from a noncontact action — it can burst. This type of force happens during movements such as:

• Landing awkwardly from a jump.
• Making a quick change of direction.
• Pivoting with your foot planted.
• Receiving a blow to the knee, like when being tackled.
• Stopping suddenly.

The factors that can lead to an ACL injury include:

• Athletic activity — Participating in sports, such as soccer, football, basketball, gymnastics or downhill skiing.
• Conditioning — Poor conditioning increases the risk of injury.
• Field surface — Playing on artificial turf compared to other surfaces like grass since your foot can become more securely planted.
• Gender — Women are more susceptible to ACL tears due to knee anatomy, muscle strength and hormonal influence.
• Sports gear — Wearing footwear that doesn't fit properly or using poorly maintained sports equipment increases the risk of injury.

What to do after an ACL injury

As soon as possible after the injury, you can reduce pain and swelling by following the R.I.C.E. method at home.

The R.I.C.E. method includes:

• Rest — Promote healing and pain by limiting weight bearing on your knee.
• Ice — Try to ice your knee for 20 minutes at least every two hours when you're awake.
• Compression — Wrap your knee with an elastic bandage or compression wrap.
• Elevation — Use pillows to prop up your knee.

If you're concerned about the extent of the injury, consult with an orthopedic specialist, who may order an MRI, which is the gold standard for diagnosing ACL issues. Surgery is often necessary, especially if you want to return to higher-impact activities.

Treatment for an ACL injury

If the orthopedic specialist recommends surgery, you'll work with an orthopedic surgeon to reconstruct your ACL. During surgery, your surgeon strives to recreate your anatomy as closely as possible. Typically, you'll go home the same day as the surgery even if the meniscus, a shock-absorbing pad of cartilage, also has been damaged. Your surgeon will repair both at the same time.

Following an ACL reconstruction, you'll begin walking and undergo physical therapy right away to regain range of motion and strength. The goal is for you to return to regular activity as soon as possible.

If you need more complex surgery, such as both ACL and meniscus repair, you typically won't be able to put full weight on the injured leg for four to six weeks. However, you'll still undergo physical therapy that focuses on range of motion and strength.

Watch a video on what to expect during and after surgery:

At about three months, your physical therapy team may start you on activity- or sports-specific exercises such as jogging or dribbling a ball. Part of your postoperative care may include working out on an anti-gravity treadmill that lets you practice running while putting no weight on your legs. Physical therapists also may conduct functional testing, including the hop test, to ensure that both legs have the same strength and range of motion. They also will gradually increase the impact on your healing leg.

By about nine months, you should be able to return to unrestricted competition or higher-impact activity.

Take action to avoid an ACL tear

Researchers are still determining who may be predisposed to ACL tears. However, you can take action to help prevent an ACL injury. Lower your risk of injury by taking steps to:

• Increase stability by strengthening your core.
• Learn and practice good form and mechanics for your sport.
• Work on overall leg strength, including your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes.

Next steps:

• Find an orthopedic or sports medicine specialist near you.
• Learn more about ACL injuries in teen athletes.
• Read more about ACL injuries and treatment.

Watch a video on ACL tear treatment and risk reduction:

Douglas Bartels, M.D., is an orthopedic surgeon in Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

This article first published on the Mayo Clinic Health System blog.

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Stylish shoes can add the finishing touch to an outfit and help you feel like you're putting your best foot forward. But those dressy shoes might not be the best for your feet — especially your toes.

Shoes that are narrow, tight, pointed or high-heeled can push the tip of your big toes toward and over your smaller toes, causing bunions.

Bunions are bulging, bony bumps at the base of your big toes. As the angle of your big toe worsens, the joint may become red, swollen and ache. Pain can occur in the joint and under the ball of your foot.

Smaller bunions, called bunionettes or tailor's bunions, can form on the outer part of your foot at the base of your fifth toe.

While your choice of shoes can contribute to bunions, other factors include:

• Arthritis
• Deformity at birth
• Inherited foot anatomy
• Injury

Learn the steps to take to manage the pain of bunions or bunionettes.

First step: Relief without surgery

Typically, experiencing pain and not being able to wear stylish shoes or walk long distances lead people to seek care, usually with a podiatrist or orthopedic specialist.

The first line of treatment is nonsurgical:

• Evaluate your shoe choices and select bunion-friendly options. Choose shoes with a wider toe box — no pointy toes — that give your toes room to spread out and relieve the pressure on the bunion.
• Give your shoes the "press" test to ensure there's a space between the tip of your big toe and the end of the shoe.
• Take over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen, ibuprofen or naproxen or apply ice to relieve pain and swelling.
• Try toe spacers that separate your toes and bunion guards that provide padding between the shoe and your aching joint.

Second step: Consider surgery

Keep in mind that bunion surgery isn't cosmetic surgery. The angle of your bunion may be severe, but surgery is not typically recommended unless it's giving you consistent pain that interferes with your daily activities.

If your orthopedic specialist determines that surgery is your best option for pain relief, you'll undergo imaging that helps your surgeon choose the best surgical procedure and technique.

The surgery may involve one or more procedures. These might be:

• Joining the bones of your big toe joint permanently.
• Realigning one or more bones in your forefoot to a more normal position to correct the abnormal angle of your big toe joint.
• Removing swollen tissue from around the big toe joint.
• Straightening your big toe by removing part of the bone.

Third step: Recovery

Each person's bunion surgery is different and so is their recovery. Be sure to talk with your surgeon about what to expect during the healing process. You may be able to walk on your foot right after the procedure, or you may need to avoid bearing weight on it while it heals. You may not be fully recovered for weeks or months.

After surgery, the best way to prevent a bunion from reforming is to wear properly fitted shoes that conform to the shape of your feet without squeezing or pressing on any part of your foot.

Next steps:

• Check out an FAQ on foot care and health.
• Learn more about bunions and bunionettes.
• Read how to determine your foot arch type.
• If you're a runner, check out how to get the best fit in your running shoes.

Taylor Beahrs, M.D., specializes in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine, including foot and ankle surgery, in Mankato, Minnesota.

This article first published on the Mayo Clinic Health System blog.

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DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My 17-year-old son plays high school soccer. After a recent game, he began complaining of pain in his lower abdomen that radiates down to his inner thigh. His primary care physician believes he has a sports hernia. What is this condition, and how is it treated? What other sports injuries cause groin pain?

ANSWER: A sports hernia is a type of core muscle injury that occurs when there is weakening or a tear in the lower abdominal wall or the tendons that attach muscles to your pelvis. Although it can be found in a similar location to an inguinal hernia, typically, there is no bulge of the intestine protruding through the weakened spot in the abdominal wall. For this reason, the term "sports hernia" is somewhat of a misnomer.

Because of the location and muscles and tendons involved in the injury, patients usually feel pain in the abdomen or groin that can shoot down the inner thigh. Like your son, most patients can tell exactly when the pain first started. This injury is most common in athletes who participate in sports that involve quick changes in direction or twisting of the hips, like hockey, soccer, tennis and football. Males are more likely to develop a sports hernia than females.

A physical exam, often coupled with imaging, and occasionally diagnostic injections, is needed to determine whether the pain is caused by a sports hernia or a different type of injury. MRI and ultrasound are two diagnostic tools commonly used. Occasionally, diagnostic injections are used to numb specific areas of the abdomen or groin to see whether the pain subsides. This helps narrow the potential location of the injury.

Once a sports hernia is diagnosed, physical therapy typically is recommended as a first-line treatment. For cases that don’t resolve with conservative treatment, surgery may be recommended. Similar to a traditional hernia repair surgery, a piece of mesh is placed to reinforce and strengthen the weakened or torn area. This also allows scar tissue to form, which helps the injury to heal while alleviating the pain. These repairs can be performed through an open procedure or laparoscopic, minimally invasive techniques.

In addition to sports hernias, two other conditions commonly cause groin or abdominal pain in young athletes.

Hip impingement: This broad term describes conditions in which the ball and socket of the hip joint don’t fit together properly. Hip impingement can lead to a loss of internal rotation of the hip, which can trigger pain in the groin area during or after flexing the hip. Impingement also can tear the labrum — a fibrous ring of cartilage surrounding the hip socket — which also can cause groin pain.

For mild to moderate cases, nonsurgical treatment, such as activity modification, pain medication, physical therapy and cortisone injections, often is attempted first. If that doesn’t help or if the case is more severe, arthroscopic or open surgery may be used to reshape the bones or repair the labrum.

Hip adductor injury: This includes hip adductor tendinopathy, a condition in which the tissue connecting muscle to bone becomes chronically inflamed, or a hip adductor strain, which is when the adductor tendon or muscle is torn at or near the attachment point within the hip.

A wide range of treatments may be offered based on the injury's severity or complexity. Nonsurgical options include cortisone injections to quickly reduce pain and inflammation or platelet-rich plasma injections to try to stimulate healing.

If nonsurgical treatments don’t help or the injury is more complex, an adductor release surgery may be considered. This is when the tendon is cut or lengthened near its attachment to the hip bone. The adductor is still attached through the underlying muscles, but the procedure releases tension in the tendon, allowing the strain or inflammation to heal.

Traditionally, this procedure is done through an open surgery. In recent years, Mayo Clinic sports medicine physicians have developed a minimally invasive, ultrasound-guided option that uses a cutting thread to release the adductor through a needle.

If your child is diagnosed with a sports hernia, consider consulting a pediatric surgeon or sports medicine physician specializing in this condition to decide on a treatment that best suits the situation. A multidisciplinary team approach can help patients receive an accurate diagnosis and personalized treatment plan for core muscle injuries. — D. Dean Potter Jr., M.D., Pediatric Surgery, and Jacob Sellon, M.D., Sports Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

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DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I was diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis. When is a knee replacement appropriate?

ANSWER: Osteoarthritis is an extremely common condition affecting over 500 million people worldwide. The knee is the most frequently affected joint. Knee osteoarthritis occurs when protective cartilage in the knee wears down leading to inflammation and pain. Commonly, patients will have bone spurs, and the normal shape of their knee is disrupted.

Symptoms of knee osteoarthritis may develop slowly, or in some patients it may come on relatively quickly. The most common symptoms include pain with weight-bearing activities, stiffness and decreased function.

Knee osteoarthritis has several causes, but the most common causes are genetic predisposition and activity level. Other risk factors include age, gender, obesity, prior surgery or prior trauma to the knee.

The diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis is made based on a combination of a thorough medical history, a detailed physical examination and imaging, which is most commonly performed with X-rays.

When diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis, several treatment options are available. In general, nonoperative treatment is recommended first. The most common nonoperative treatments are oral pain medications, activity modification, use of gait aids while walking, or injections.

For pain medications, we typically recommend non-opioid medications such as acetaminophen, or not steroidal anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen or naproxen. The goal of these medications is to reduce the inflammation and subsequent pain associated with osteoarthritis.

Similarly, activity modification and the use of a gait aid are aimed at reducing the load in the knee that, subsequently, can cause pain.

The most common injection for the knee is a steroid. The goal is to reduce joint inflammation and improve symptoms. Some patients may get relief from these nonoperative treatments for months while others only get a good response for a few weeks.

Knee replacement is indicated when patients have tried several nonoperative treatments and they are no longer working. Knee replacement is most appropriate when the pain limits activities and quality of life. This may mean patients are no longer are doing activities that they love such as walking or exercising.

Many patients can live with their knee osteoarthritis without having surgery, as the nonoperative treatments are effective for them. Knee replacement is reserved for those who have both activity limitations and have failed nonoperative treatment.

During a knee replacement, the surgeon cuts away the damaged bone and cartilage from your thigh bone (femur), shin bone (tibia), and in some cases the kneecap (patella). These areas are then replaced with an artificial joint typically consisting of metal and high-grade medical plastic.

For a majority of patients, a knee replacement significantly improves pain and function and increases mobility. In some cases, however, complications do occur. This is why we recommend surgery only for patients who understand the risks and benefits of the procedure and are willing to undergo a surgery while understanding those risks to relieve their pain.

To help make the decision of whether a knee replacement is appropriate, a patient should see an orthopedic surgeon who can perform that careful history, physical examination and review the X-rays with the patient. The surgeon can then review the risks and benefits of the procedure and discuss through a shared decision-making process if surgery would be appropriate for the patient.

Although nonoperative treatments are effective for the majority of patients with knee osteoarthritis, they do not work for everyone. If you are interested in learning more about knee replacement, seek a full evaluation and consultation from an orthopedic surgeon who can review your condition and discuss what options might work best in your individual situation. — Charles Hannon, M.D., M.B.A., Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester.

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Researchers have found that condensing exercise into a few days is as effective as spreading activity out across a week. Dr. Wes Troyer, a Mayo Clinic physical medicine and rehabilitation physician, explains how people who stack their workouts can avoid common injuries and reap the benefits of their activity.

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Exercise is key to a healthy lifestyle.

For those on a time crunch, stacking weekly exercise into a couple of days comes with the title "weekend warrior."

“Things like running, jogging, high-intensity workouts, ideally, the more that you can do, the better. People that did this, lowered mortality, lowered cardiovascular events," says Dr. Troyer.

At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous activity is recommended for adults each week.

"We don't expect people that have gone from a sedentary activity of not doing anything to jumping into 150 minutes a week. So taking days of break in between, assessing how your body responds to that activity," says Dr. Troyer.

Repeating the same motions or ramping up too quickly could lead to overuse injuries, inflammation and pain.

“If you take a couple days off and it's still persistent pain with daily activity — pain that keeps you up at night or keeps you from sleeping — these are all things that we typically recommend people coming in to be evaluated," he says.

Related articles:

• "Mayo Clinic Minute: Tips to avoid 'weekend warrior athlete' sports injuries"
• "Mayo Clinic Minute: Weekend warrior exercise tips"

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Technology allows care team to remotely monitor patients' recovery

MANKATO, Minn. — For more than 15 years, Ronald Gary Woods ended most days with aching knees.

"It was hard walking around. My knees would get sore and were popping and cracking," says Woods, 63, of Eagle Lake, Minnesota. "It's like everything else, they just wore out."

Woods tried various treatments, including cortisone shots and nerve ablation, to interrupt pain signals sent to the brain. His plan was to wait until retirement for surgical intervention. "But I was tired of hurting," he says.

Woods and Jacob Ziegler, M.D., his orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato, recommended bilateral knee replacement, a surgery to replace both of his knees at the same time. Dr. Ziegler had recently become the first surgeon in the health system to begin utilizing new sensor technology licensed by Zimmer Biomet through a partnership with Canary Medical. The smart orthopedic implants function just like standard knee replacements, but they include a sensor in the stem anchored in the shin bone that remotely monitors and tracks a patient's recovery by measuring range of motion, steps, stride and other data associated with gait.

Dr. Ziegler explained to Woods that he would have use of an app to see his gait and mobility information as he recovered from surgery. The data would be uploaded once daily to Dr. Ziegler's team, helping them monitor how well Woods was progressing.

"It sounded pretty good," Woods says. "The doctor said it was for research too. I thought, 'Why not?'"

According to Zimmer Biomet, Woods was one of the first known patients in the world to receive single-surgery bilateral smart knee replacements on March 26.

Dr. Ziegler and Cory Couch, M.D., orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, are the only two Mayo Clinic surgeons who have implanted smart knee replacements in patients, but they will become widely available after Mayo Clinic's trial period of the technology.

Remote monitoring is a major benefit in the rural healthcare setting, Dr. Ziegler says. Patients who live a longer distance from the hospital may not have to return for some in-person follow-up appointments during recovery if the smart knee data shows positive recovery metrics.

"The biggest benefit to patients is our ability to monitor their progress with objective data," Dr. Ziegler says. "Historically, we had to do it very, very subjectively. We could see their range of motion, and beyond that, it was just asking, 'How do you feel? Do you feel like you're moving well? Do you feel like you're progressing?' And patients didn't have any way of knowing what normal should be or what to compare it to. We're able to pull up these recovery curves and show them how their data compares to other patients in a cohort and what they can do to progress."

The battery is guaranteed to last 10 years, although many will likely last longer, Dr. Ziegler says. When the battery dies, the knee replacement continues to function like a traditional knee replacement.

Dr. Ziegler is quick to point out that patient privacy is always at the forefront. Real-time data is not collected, and there is no GPS component showing the care team where the patient is located at any time. Patients also can choose to stop uploading data if they no longer want their metrics shared with the care team.

The only criteria for patients who want to receive a smart knee is that they must be comfortable enough with the technology to be able to engage with the app, Dr. Ziegler says.

The future of the technology is exciting to think about, he says. Future versions could have potential to detect micro motions and subtle temperature changes to identify infection early on or loosening of the implant.

Both Dr. Ziegler and Woods agree he's doing very well in his recovery, and the data from the smart knee has helped his care team ensure he's been on the right trajectory.

"It's getting better every day," says Woods, who just several months after surgery was able to get back on his motorcycle. "I won't make it to Sturgis this year, but next year for sure."

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About Mayo Clinic Health System
Mayo Clinic Health System consists of clinics, hospitals and other facilities that serve the healthcare needs of people in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The community-based healthcare professionals, paired with the resources and expertise of Mayo Clinic, enable patients in the region to receive the highest-quality physical and virtual healthcare close to home.

Media contact:

• Amanda Dyslin, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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